Ohio Gov. John Kasich is sinking slowly into the quicksand of voter disapproval, with a 50 - 35
percent thumbs down on job approval, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today.
This is down from a 49 - 38 percent job disapproval May 18.

Opponents of Gov. Kasich's legislation to limit collective bargaining for public employees
retain a 56 - 32 lead in the expected November referendum, the independent Quinnipiac
(KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University poll finds.

The good news for Republicans is that Ohio voters support by an overwhelming 78 - 20
percent efforts to require photo identification in order to vote. By a narrow 48 - 45 percent
voters support a proposed constitutional amendment which would block any federal efforts to
require Ohio residents to purchase health insurance.

"Gov. John Kasich is sinking lower in the eyes of Ohio voters, dropping from an 11-point
approval deficit two months ago to a 15-point deficit today," said Peter A. Brown, assistant
director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. "Even after the state budget has been
approved as he promised without raising taxes, and even though the Quinnipiac University poll
finds that 63 percent say they favor such an approach, Gov. Kasich's name remains mud in the
eyes of the Ohio electorate.

"Voters may say 2-1 they wanted him to balance the budget just through spending cuts
rather than with a combination of spending cuts and tax increases, but they don't like the cuts
that he and the Legislature approved. By 50 - 32 percent, voters say the budget is unfair to
people like them. When voters think a politician is treating them unfairly, that's not good for the
politician's political health."

Kasich's job performance gets a 66 - 19 percent approval from Republicans, but
disapproval is 76 - 12 percent among Democrats and 48 - 34 percent among independent voters.
The depth of his problem is evidenced by his split 43 - 42 percent rating among white evangelical
Christians, typically a very pro-Republican group.

The numbers on the proposed effort to repeal SB5 limiting collective bargaining in a
November referendum are similar to those on Kasich personally. Republicans oppose repeal 56
- 35 percent, while repeal wins 75 - 14 percent support from Democrats and 52 - 33 percent
support from independent voters.

"Kasich has until 2014 when he presumably will face the voters, to turn his political
fortunes around, but the timeline for the vote on SB5, which is obviously a referendum on the
governor's agenda, is much shorter," said Brown. "A loss on SB5 would be a no confidence vote
on the governor from the voters of Ohio."

Perhaps the only ray of sunshine for Kasich in the budget numbers is the finding that by
34 - 27 percent voters say the cuts approved by Kasich and lawmakers will help, rather than hurt,
the Ohio economy. Another 32 percent say the cuts won't affect the economy.

Support for the proposed constitutional amendment to block a key provision of President
Barack Obama's health care reform breaks on strictly partisan lines: Republicans support the
amendment 78 - 17 percent while Democrats oppose it 71 - 20 percent. Independent voters,
who may decide the outcome, support the amendment 49 - 44 percent.

From July 12 - 18, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,659 registered voters with a margin
of error of +/- 2.4 percentage points. Live interviewers call land lines and cell phones.

The Quinnipiac University Poll, directed by Douglas Schwartz, Ph.D., conducts public
opinion surveys in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida, Ohio, Virginia
and the nation as a public service and for research.
For more data or RSS feed- http://www.quinnipiac.edu/polling.xml, call (203) 582-5201, or
follow us on Twitter.

9. Do you approve or disapprove of the way John Kasich is handling his job as
Governor?

20a. (SPLIT SAMPLE A) As you may know, there is a new law in Ohio that would
limit collective bargaining for public employees. Do you support or oppose
limiting collective bargaining for public employees?

TREND: As you may know, there is a new law in Ohio that would limit collective
bargaining for public employees. Do you support or oppose limiting collective
bargaining for public employees? (*Mar 2011 "proposed" law)

20b. (SPLIT SAMPLE B) As you may know, there is a new law in Ohio that would
limit collective bargaining rights for public employees. Do you support or
oppose limiting collective bargaining rights for public employees?

TREND: As you may know, there is a new law in Ohio that would limit collective
bargaining rights for public employees. Do you support or oppose limiting
collective bargaining rights for public employees? (*Mar 2011 "proposed" law)

24. The new law would require public employees to pay at least 15 percent of
their health insurance premiums. Do you support or oppose requiring public
employees to pay at least 15 percent of their health insurance premiums?

TREND: The new law would require public employees to pay at least 15 percent of
their health insurance premiums. Do you support or oppose requiring public
employees to pay at least 15 percent of their health insurance premiums?
(*Mar 2011 "proposed" law)

25. The new law would prevent the public employee unions from bargaining over
their health insurance plans. Do you support or oppose preventing the public
employee unions from bargaining over their health insurance plans?

TREND: The new law would prevent the public employee unions from bargaining over
their health insurance plans. Do you support or oppose preventing the public
employee unions from bargaining over their health insurance plans?
(*wording change "bargaining over health insurance plans for public employees")

Jul 20 May 18
2011 2011*
Support 36 38
Oppose 58 54
DK/NA 6 8

26. The new law would require public employees to pay at least 10 percent of
their wages for their pensions. Do you support or oppose requiring public
workers to pay at least 10 percent of their wages for their pensions?

TREND: The new law would require public employees to pay at least 10 percent of
their wages for their pensions. Do you support or oppose requiring public
workers to pay at least 10 percent of their wages for their pensions?

Jul 20 May 18
2011 2011
Support 58 58
Oppose 33 34
DK/NA 9 9

27. The new law would replace automatic pay increases based on length of service
with increases based on merit. Do you support or oppose replacing automatic pay
increases based on longevity with merit pay for public employees?

TREND: The new law would replace automatic pay increases based on length of
service with increases based on merit. Do you support or oppose replacing
automatic pay increases based on longevity with merit pay for public employees?

Jul 20 May 18
2011 2011
Support 56 57
Oppose 35 35
DK/NA 9 7

28. The new law would eliminate seniority as the sole factor when determining
layoffs. Do you support or oppose eliminating seniority as the sole factor when
determining layoffs?

30. As you may know, there is a proposed amendment to Ohio's constitution on the
November ballot seeking to block the federal health care requirement for Ohio
residents. Do you support or oppose an amendment to block the federal health
care requirement for Ohio residents?

36. Which comes closer to your view regarding the budget:
A) It is a good thing that taxes were not raised and the budget deficit was
closed by just spending cuts. OR
B) Taxes should have been raised so that there would have been fewer spending
cuts.